Paths down a Trail
by Feuer der Nacht
Summary: Link was a young boy with an unclear past rescued by a few Ordonian villagers. Little did they know that he had the potential within him to change the world around him as he saw fit.
1. Prologue

**A/N: as a side note: this is Twilight Princess with heavy elements of Fable: TLC and Fable 2 mixed in. You'll probably see up to four versions of each chapter coinciding with the four defined paths in Fable 2 (Saint, Decadent, Ghoul, and Fanatic) with the exception of the prologue which there will only be one of. Like I said, there are elements of both Fable games mixed in, mainly just abilities and the character growth of the story. There are no fable characters to be mentioned in the game with the exception of things pertaining to the Old Kingdom (and even that may be subtle at best).**

**If you're wondering why I picked TP over the other games, it's mostly because these characters have the most development that's only really rivaled by MM. Besides, TP has a much bigger map. Of course the TP timeline will be different from the game both to make it interesting and because Fable is all about changing the timeline.**

**XXX**

Rusl hissed as a rock pelted him in the ribs. The little pest that they had been chasing for upwards of an hour was grinding away at the last shreds of his patients. The young youth Fado and Haunch, one of the more senior members of the village, had been following a troubling 'animal' that had been bothering their crops recently. Only to find out that it wasn't an animal in the traditional sense of the word, even if it was as wild as can be. Before them crouched a small, panting boy with a pumpkin under one arm and a slab of some kind of meat over the other shoulder.

Rusl scratched his head. The boy couldn't have been more than six years old, yet the wild tenacity and passion of a survivor filled his piercing blue eyes. His sharp gaze told the villagers that the child wasn't going down without a struggle. The three attempted to circle around the child, but the ruse didn't seem to go unnoticed. The youth chucked another well aimed rock and managed to break Haunch's nose. The old man cradled his profusely bleeding nose as the child used this distraction to make a break for it.

Fado dove and tackled the lad and received a vicious bite to his shoulder for his effort. After wriggling his way away like an eel, he attempted to duck behind a fallen tree before being hoisted back by Rusl who had managed to get a fist full of his unkempt hair. Fado had already recovered and helped bind the boy with a bit of rope that the trio had brought with them. Poor Haunch, weary with his age setting in, was still trying to stop his nose from bleeding.

The boy snapped his teeth at his capturers. Rusl growled in irritation before grabbing his jaw and forcing the boy to look him in the eye. "You better be worth it, kid," he said with no small amount of venom in his voice.

It was now time to see if the child could be rehabilitated into their little 'society.'

XXX

**2 years later**

"Link," a voice called out. The boy ignored it; he was too preoccupied with staring down the Ordon Catfish swimming in the river. "Link!" the voice tried again. The boy raised his hand, ready to dive in and snatch one of the fish. "LINK!" a girlish scream filled the air as young Ilia stomped her way through the neighborhood calling for the young boy her own age.

Fado stood behind the focused lad and placed a his boot on his rump, giving him a firm push into the river. Link coughed and sputtered as the water tried to flow into his mouth, which opened in his surprise.

Fado looked down at the younger boy and sighed. "Hey Link, Ilia woke me from my beauty sleep with that hollerin' o' 'er's. Go see what's wrong with her."

Link cast his blue eyes towards the sky and noted with disdain that the sun was almost to the peak of the sky. What was that lazy cretin doing asleep at this time of the day? The boy cast a scowl at the adolescent in front of him and grumbled to himself before splashing him as much as he could. Fado let out a string of profanities as young Link swam to the other side of the river. He climbed out of the river looking like a drowned rat only to see the cause of his current torment in front of him.

The little blond gazed at him with a furrowed brow. "Where have you been?" she asked as she clutched her teddy bear. Link gave a nervous wave but said nothing.

"Now now, Ilia, it's Link's choice whether or not he plays with you," Link looked up to see Rusl speaking.

"But, but-" Ilia was lost for words. She had been so ecstatic when she first laid eyes on young Link when he first came into the village hog tied two years ago, the first and only child her own age. Ordon was a painfully small community of just over fifty people, and all the youths were either entering adulthood like Fado or not much more than babes in arms. Sadly for her, Link was a free spirit. He had spent who-knows-how much time alone and was still adjusting to the small social network they had.

Language had been lost on him until Rusl started teaching it to him. Rusl, one of the few literate people in the small village, was trying to teach him the written word also. Literacy was rare enough these days, but no child he was responsible for would grow up illiterate if he could help it. Despite all of his rearing, Link seemed to see him as more of an older sibling than a father figure, much to his wife's, chagrin. It seemed almost as if he was too mentally old for parents after whatever he had been through on his own.

Link slinked off, not bothering to listen to the rest of Rusl's lecture to Ilia. Link did play with her sometimes with games that only she really understood. She was controlling, always attempting to be the dominate one, the one in charge. He hated it when she tugged on his long, pointy ears whenever she wanted him to follow her. They were sensitive, damn it!

Finally finding solitude near Faron road which passed by the spring and went into the woods, Link stood and stretched his muscles attempting to let the sun dry out his clothes.

_Link._

Not again. Link looked up to see who was calling him, so that he could effectively avoid them. He was told he didn't have to work today and could take time off.

_**Link! Now is not the time for games.**_

Link shot up and glanced around wildly. For an unknown reason, his adrenaline surged at the tone of this 'voice' and the fight or flight that he had been so accustomed to in the wilderness bubbled forth from wherever civilized life had locked it away.

_**Come. Your blood calls for you.**_

The authoritative tone in the voice was less menacing, but a sweet sensation traveled through Link's mind as the voice drifted through. The pleasure turned euphoric as he chased towards it. Dashing into the woods, he came upon a small caravan. He could feel a hum coming from it. He opened the door to it, not bothering to remember that it belonged to someone and say something that reminded him of the sundry shop in Ordon. On one of the lower shelves, he came upon a hollow circle with decorative embroidery that had been rusted and worn away with the ages, rendering it's design illegible.

_**Take me.**_ The voice seemed to be originating from the object.

"Ah, what do we have here?" Link spun around to see a portly man step inside of the caravan. He smiled down to Link when he saw him over the old hunk of junk. "Now this is twuuuuly a mawvol. This unassuming object is actually an ancient mawgical devoice uuuused by speciol people to communicate and unlock speciol places, which I now offer to you for the modest pwoice of… foive rupees…

XXX

**A/N: Okay, so I brought you-know-who back. He's a magical being working for Theresa and the ghost of Archon, I swear! :X**

**Sorry, it just flowed so that he made an appearance. I like the character too much anyways.**


	2. The Purchase Path 1

The Purchase (Path 1)

_**Take me.**_ The object repeated although the caravan owner seemed oblivious to it.

Link looked at the seeming piece of trash with longing. The caravan owner noted this with a twinkle in his eye.

"Don't wowy little one. I'll be in town all day today, so you can go gathew foive wupees at your leisure."

_**Take me!**_ The object commanded with greater force than before. Link was mentally pulled towards it, but he pulled away, dashing back to Ordon as fast as he could to go gather five rupees. It couldn't be that difficult, could it? The path was pretty clear with the exception of a few passersby shaking their head at the energetic boy.

It turned out that work was scarce. He wanted to work for one or two measly rupees, but most just scoffed and sent him on his way. He didn't expect such trouble. He searched and searched for the better part of an hour looking for work, but the lack of it frustrated him to no end. Finally, he had a rest near the fence boundary of one of the few Ordonian homes when he heard an irritating noise. Upon a grumpy inspection, he found Fado doing something with Mrs. Ann… eeeewwwww. He was still steaming from Fado not letting him help him chop wood earlier, but this was just nasty. With a women who was already taken no less.

The look of shock on Mrs. Ann's face was priceless as she saw the revolted and morbidly curious face of Link in the window. Fado caught on as well and made a strange gagging noise when he noticed their spectator. The older woman leapt up and threw a robe around herself before racing outside to catch the boy before he ran off. Link got himself cornered by a worried woman and a fuming Fado who looked ready to crack Link's skull open. Fortunately for Link, Mrs. Ann thought of a more peaceful solution.

"Link, you can't tell anyone what you just saw," she began. The boy didn't look to convinced and was still eying Fado warily. "Look, here's something for your trouble." The woman pulled a green rupee out of her pocket and tried to hand it to him. The rupee peaked Link's interest and he was very tempted to take it. He almost did. His hand was reaching for it before his better half won out and he made a mad sprint around the two. Fado cursed and went after him, but to no avail. The lad was too fast.

XXX

It was frustrating that he had to use words to tell Mrs. Ann's husband what he had saw, but Link managed somehow. The syllables never quite formed correctly in his mouth. His irritated growls and grumbles were evident to his discomfort. At first the older gentleman was in denial of what he had been told, putting it off as the wild stories of a wild child that still didn't know what he had been talking about. To his despair, he came around when Link conveyed to the best of his ability that they tried to give him money. A child of his age would have little understanding of monetary bribery and the distraught man was forced to face facts. He even rewarded Link with a few spare rupees as positive reinforcement for what he had done. Honesty was rare enough these days.

After counting the odd change that had been handed to him, he realized that he had more than enough for what he came to do in the beginning. Beaming at his accomplishment, he raced off to get the object of his desire.

The Trader looked up happily as young Link cam bounding over the hills gleefully. The boy lightly danced inside and counted out five green rupees. The portly fellow scooped them up and plopped the rusty piece of garbage into the boy's hands.

_**Can you feel it?**_ Link's eyes glazed over as the euphoria returned and hummed its way through his mind. _**Your blood… It's marvelous. **_The boy dazedly returned to reality. Everything looked different around him. The world hummed with life. Upon stepping out of the caravan, he saw the forest in a way he hadn't for nearly two years, brimming with life.

"Have fun little one!" the trader called out. When liked turned to acknowledge him, the caravan was already disappearing into the distance.

_**It's time you learn the three disciplines of life, Link. **_Link looked down at the seemingly mundane object in surprise. _**Your name is your own. That's how I know it. **_The riddles made no sense the juvenile and did little more than confuse him. _**It is of little importance. What you need to do is venture into Faron. Awaiting you there near the largest tree is a challenge. Fear not, for you should be more than capable of defeating it as you are now.**_

Link stared at the object in a new light. It probably wasn't the best of ideas to follow the instructions of a strange voice coming from an unknown object.

_**It is your choice whether or not to follow in the footsteps of your ancestors.**_

XXX

Link sat back near his little cottage near Rusl's own abode. He had been contemplating the words of the… obje d'art that had spoken to him. The luring euphoria that had lead him to it had vanished and there was nothing compelling him to listen to it. Still proud of his purchase, the disturbing object hung on his belt waiting for whatever use it may hold. The choice of following its instructions seemed to be entirely up to him.

He was dying of curiosity, but as Rusl said, 'Curiosity killed the cat,' a saying that made Sera, a local cat lover, very protective and overbearing towards her cuddly feline. Link knew of the 'largest tree.' It rightfully deserved the name 'largest tree.' If one were to veer away from the open fields and journey deeper into Faron, an ancient twisted tree stood taller and deeper than one's eyes could perceive. A small wooden path was forged up to an opening. The problem was no one knew who built it. There were rumors that it was built and maintained by the monkeys that pranced around the forest, but that was silly, right?

Finally making up his mind, Link gathered a few good sized rocks into a little pouch of his and set off towards the instructed area.


	3. The Purchase Path 2

**A/N: this is not a continuation of path 1, it is the alternate choice. Yes, it's very similar, but the key events are very different. The events will be even more radically different in future alternate chapters.**

The Purchase (Path 2)

_**Take me.**_ The object repeated although the caravan owner seemed oblivious to it.

Link looked at the seeming piece of trash with longing. The caravan owner noted this with a twinkle in his eye.

"Don't wowy little one. I'll be in town all day today, so you can go gathew foive wupees at your leisure."

_**Take me!**_ The object commanded with greater force than before. Link's hand lashed out to grasp the object, but an electric jolt forced his hand back. It felt as if he had been burned, yet there were no burn marks.

The trader raised an eyebrow at this. "That would be my patented antoi-theft devoice. I'm sorwy, but you'll haff ta wait to inspect the meroichendoice."

Link nodded stiffly before bolting out the door. Cooking up a few rupees couldn't be too hard, could it?

The trader shook his head as the boy left and turned to face the seal. "I certionly hop tat that boy straightens oop far all ar sakes." He shrugged before twirling his mustache a bit. "I suppose what he cooks oop would probably be better tan what's coming though. After all, a good trader can make a profit no matter the economy, wight? At least ol' Murgo's prepared like." The object remained unresponsive. "Oh foin, be tat way."

XXX

It turned out that work was scarce. He wanted to work for one or two measly rupees, but most just scoffed and sent him on his way. He didn't expect such trouble. He searched and searched for the better part of an hour looking for work, but the lack of it frustrated him to no end. Finally, he had a rest near the fence boundary of one of the few Ordonian homes when he heard an irritating noise. Upon a grumpy inspection, he found Fado doing something with Mrs. Ann… eeeewwwww. He was still steaming from Fado not letting him help him chop wood earlier, but this was just nasty. With a women who was already taken no less.

The look of shock on Mrs. Ann's face was priceless as she saw the revolted and morbidly curious face of Link in the window. Fado caught on as well and made a strange gagging noise when he noticed their spectator. The older woman leapt up and threw a robe around herself before racing outside to catch the boy before he ran off. Link got himself cornered by a worried woman and a fuming Fado who looked ready to crack Link's skull open. Fortunately for Link, Mrs. Ann thought of a more peaceful solution.

"Link, you can't tell anyone what you just saw," she began. The boy didn't look to convinced and was still eying Fado warily. "Look, here's something for your trouble." The woman pulled a green rupee out of her pocket and tried to hand it to him.

The rupee peaked Link's interest and he was very tempted to take it. A devilish grin crossed his face, Mrs. Ann sighed in relief. Link then held up his hand with his five fingers extended.

"You want five?" the woman asked worriedly. Fado balled up his fists and began to march over to the brat before he was stopped by Mrs. Ann who was shaking her head fervently. A beaten child might say something damning. Even if the fear of being beaten was enough to silence most, Link had always been a special case. The wild had toughened him, and he knew how to get his way… eventually.

Mrs. Ann threw a blue rupee at Link, and the boy snatched it out of the air. He cradled it for a moment before bolting off to see the trader.

The Trader looked up out of the corner of his eye as young Link cam bounding over the hills gleefully. The boy lightly danced inside lay the blue rupee onto the counter. The portly fellow scooped it and plopped the rusty piece of garbage into the boy's hands.

_**Can you feel it?**_ Link's eyes glazed over as the euphoria returned and hummed its way through his mind. _**Your blood… It's marvelous. **_The boy dazedly returned to reality. Everything looked different around him. The world hummed with life. Upon stepping out of the caravan, he saw the forest in a way he hadn't for nearly two years, brimming with life.

"Have fun little one!" the trader called out. When liked turned to acknowledge him, the caravan was already disappearing into the distance.

_**It's time you learn the three disciplines of life, Link. **_ Link looked down at the seemingly mundane object in surprise. _**Your name is your own. That's how I know it. **_The riddles made no sense the juvenile and did little more than confuse him. _**It is of little importance. What you need to do is venture into Faron. Awaiting you there near the largest tree is a challenge. Fear not, for you should be more than capable of defeating it as you are now.**_

__Link was still on cloud nine from his purchase, so 'Why not' was about the clearest thing he could think of. He gathered several smaller rocks for a sling. Being wily had gotten him what he wanted sooner than he probably would've otherwise. The only logical step forward is to keep being wily and clever. Slings were often as or even more effective than throwing rocks by hand. The rocks would fly faster and farther with them. Sure, one could probably cause more damage by clubbing someone with a rock, but that requires you to be up close and vulnerable.

Maybe he could extort Fado and Mrs. Ann again. Then again, it might not work seeing as the two of them might refuse and try and get to Mrs. Ann's husband first so that he would sound like a child with wild stories. But, how would they explain how he could've known about _that._ Not to mention, he rarely spoke. He could use the rare few times he spoke to create an impact on a situation.

This could bloom into a beautiful thing.


	4. The Test Path 1

_ A/N: Just to be perfectly clear, this is a continuation of "The Purchase (Path 1)_

_ Also, to Shee, an Anonymous reviewer on the copy of the story posted in the crossover section: _

_Yes there are going to be alternate chapters for the good and the bad "paths" of morality, but there will also be paths for the pure and corrupt paths. For the first few "chapters," there will probably just be good and evil, mostly because they'll be dealing with Link's childhood. Once the actual adventure starts, there will be up to four variants of each chapter, Good/Pure, Good/Corrupt, Evil/Corrupt, Evil/Pure. Yes I know_ _there are 30+ character combinations in Fable 2, but those are the four big ones. I'll probably mix in some of the more suiting minor characteristics that go with them. However, I must let you know that once a new "Path" has begun, that means that that story will be written and posted along with the original two._

_ If you are unfamiliar with the Fable 2 Purity/Corruption meter: .com/wiki/Purity#Purity_and_Corruption (no real spoilers except gameplay spoilers. In other words, nothing about the story is revealed, just gameplay aspects. However, it may ruin the discovery process for those who haven't played the two games yet since one of the core aspects of the Fable series, especially Fable 2, is playing the game multiple times and expanding in the many directions possible. There's also a minor spoiler for the upcoming Fable 3)._

XXX

_**You are almost there.**_

Link came upon a long bridge that looked to be made from massive trees that had been split in half and hollowed out. It led to the largest tree in the forest. He tried to see what was supporting it, but couldn't crane his head around the railing without risk of falling. So far though, it hadn't so much as creaked as he walked hesitantly across the surprisingly sturdy structure.

The boy couldn't shake the feeling of being watched. He glanced around to try and find out whom or what was but found nothing of interest. As he approached the tree, several clicking sounds and high pitched squeaks sounded from a distance. They were unnerving. As he reached the tree there was, strangely enough, a circular door in the tree with worn and weathered metal bars, which looked terribly out of place on a seemingly wooden door, crisscrossing it in eight directions. Far above, were holes with ledges with what appeared to be monkeys peering out and down at the stranger.

On the center of the door was a cylindrical depression surrounded by gears and gyros. Set inside of it, were markings that were oddly familiar. Link unhooked the talking scrap pile that he purchased from the trader and examined it. They were similar in design, but they were both far too worn to compare. In a moment of clarity, he inserted it into the depression. The boy was startled and leapt back when a groan of dilapidated architecture sounded and the gears on the front of the door whined and squealed as they began to sleepily awaken. The bars that lied across the door retracted and the artifact was ejected from the key-hole giving the circular door the cause to roll to the side, and thus exposing the entrance.

Needless to say, Link was shocked that anything happened at all, let alone something so drastic. He was half expecting the most eventful thing would be him needing to pry his trinket out. The boy's thoughts were interrupted when the clicking sound came back and sounded a lot closer than before. He turned to see, of all things crawling up the side of the bridge, _spiders_, big ones. They had to be at least the size of a grown man's head. The gargantuan arachnids chattered and screeched as they all caught view of him. The majority of them immediately raised their front four legs into the air above their heads and bared their dripping fangs in warning.

Fear dug its icy fingers into Link's mind. He panicked and grabbed his rusty artifact off of the ground before bolting into the inside of the tree. The spiders pursued after the boy. Finding no place to run to that would be out of reach of the nimble arthropods, Link steeled himself and chucked a good sized from his pouch at one of his pursuers. The spider's primitive mind didn't register the simple projectile as a threat and attempted to attack it rather than avoid. A squelching crunch resounded as the rock broke through the arachnid's exoskeleton and crushed its head and part of its abdomen.

The rest of the spiders continued after their prey unconcerned with the death of their comrade. Link found a decently large stick and swatted at another mobile monstrosity, and was rather surprised when the spider wrapped its legs around the stick and ran up it as an impromptu ramp to Link. Fortunately, the boy was substantially frightened enough to drop the stick and back off. With no where left to run, Link resorted back to rock throwing. One managed to crush a couple of one of his hunter's legs, reducing its pursuit to a more sluggish pace. The last unharmed one stared at him with eight haunting eyes and clacked its pincers angrily.

Link, high on adrenaline, managed to dance away from the spider's assault and the feeble pursuits of the injured one. The spider stopped for a bit after its charge before reorienting itself and facing Link again only to get a rock to the face. After dispatching the injured spider, his adrenaline wore off and Link collapsed a few feet away from the twitching carcasses.

_**Well done. Not many could do what you just have all but unarmed like that, especially someone of your age. You should be proud.**_

Link grumpily acknowledged the strange hollow voice that had been addressing him for the past few hours. It was most certainly fascinating, but he was starting to wonder if it was trouble or not.

_**Look to the fallen creatures that you have killed.**_

With nothing better to do in his tired state, he obeyed and cast a gander over to the spider carcasses. Surprise donned on his features as he saw something hovering around the bodies. Well, he didn't _see, _see, but- Well, he couldn't describe how he was perceiving it.

_**Your bloodline has a unique ability like no other that has allowed its possessors in the past to ascend to greatness and beyond, shaping the world as they saw fit. But such is a forgotten time, the likes of which have been faded and obscured by fables and legends to an unrecognizable degree. But you are alive and have it.**_

_**What you 'see' is the knowledge and past experience of that which you have killed. By taking this in unto yourself, you will possess it for your own. Being simple creatures, your gain will be little this time, but the event has strengthened you nonetheless. Now, breathe in their past life.**_

Link was too tired to argue and was even intrigued by the development. He obeyed, and the mystifying presence around the corpses entered into his mind and body. Pleasing tremors and shudders racked his small, tired body.

_**You probably haven't seen much considering the source of this particular batch of essence, yet this is most likely confusing to you being your first time dealing with such. The first few times, I will guide your mind as it focuses what you are currently processing. As you accustom yourself to it, you can do it without my help, but first, rest. This can wait until you are fully awake and alert.**_

Link smiled tiredly as sleep crept through the corners of his vision, and a sense of accomplishment flowed over him.

XXX

"WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?" screeched an angry Uli. She and about another dozen women behind her were all giving him mountain toppling glares. Seeing as the boy had no real mother, several of the village women all seemed to try and raise him in many different directions. Rusl did his best to try and put a stop to it so the young boy wouldn't grow up confused, but fortunately, Link was so independent it didn't seem to matter.

Link looked like he got his hand caught in the cookie jar. After he had passed out, he didn't wake until dawn was first beginning to creep its way across the morning sky. By the time Link finally got back to the village it was already time to work the crops and the livestock had already been tended to hours ago. It turns out that the village was in an uproar looking for him last night. He cast his eyes to the ground in his shame. He didn't think far enough ahead to consider their worry.

Rusl walked up to see what his wife was screaming about and received a pleading look from Link. The older man was tempted to rescue him from the gaggle of harpies, but decided that maybe the torment would teach him not to go wandering around all night.

The lecture, or cacophony of a dozen scatterbrained lectures, seemed to drag on forever. When it finally ended, Link drearily noted that it was past noon. He usually helped out his neighbors with chores that he was capable of for his age. Many of the older adolescents hated when he did this because their own parents seemed to suddenly expect more out of them when he worked. It was fun and made him feel like he was doing something. After the few hours of menial tasks he usually did he was completed, Link decided to find himself a good tree to lie under. Hopefully Illia wouldn't bother him too much today. She had been a real nuisance lately.

_**You seem to be pure in your attempt to help out your community, interesting. **_Link's eyes brightened when he heard the voice return. _**I promised you that I would help guide you in your first attempts to focus the experiences of your enemies. Here.**_

The world around him bled away and Link soon found himself to be standing in a stone room with many great paintings surrounding the different sides. Towards the center, a series of steps encircled a gilded platform. Bright, wild, blue eyes darted around in bewilderment at the sudden change of scenery.

_**This chamber has long since faded away from time, but it remains in the realm only the mind and the dead can access. Here, your first few attempts to focus the essence you've gathered from your enemies will be done for you. Take note of the experience and do so with haste, it is unwise to tread here for too long or too many times.**_

The ominous message caused the hairs on Link's neck to rise, but his curiosity and eagerness won out and he soon found himself standing on the gilded platform. He felt his mind run away with itself, like when one was first starting to dream. His eyelids shut, but his eyes themselves were moving rapidly from behind them.

_**There are three ways to focus the essence, all of which will affect you both mentally and physically. Mind you, you must actively use them and your body to maintain and truly achieve them. The three main branches are strength, skill, and will. **_

_**Strength is straightforward. How strong your body is and how resilient you are. You can also focus it into embracing strength-based melee combat techniques from the collective. The collective is a library of sorts of techniques cultivated by your ancestors.**_

_**Skill is your speed, dexterity and how guileful you are. There are also skill based abilities available from the collective.**_

_**Will is your mind's power, the mind's ability to shape the world around it. Focusing the gathered essence here will increase the ease of which you implement Will, your strength of using it, and your capacity for using it. The collective of techniques here are many and very useful. These techniques are so precise that the closest word to describe them would be magic.**_

_**I would advise that you select at least one Will technique before expanding to anything else. Be cautious in your selection though. Some techniques can only be properly used by those whose souls have been tainted with evil, and some can only be used properly by those of benevolent nature. So choose wisely.**_

The information that buzzed through his mind was almost like a catalogue. Link peered through the Will techniques. Some complimented each other and even mundane household tasks. Some were meant to be used in tandem with Strength and Skill techniques listed in other parts of the collective. His mind browsed through the long lists and let brief description flit in and out of his mind. Some were insidious, techniques that drained the life out of your targets and those that even manipulated a target's mind. Such were reserved for those with the blackest of hearts. Finding one that suited him was surprisingly difficult. There was so much to choose from and yet he could only pick one.

_**For now.**_ The voice reminded him.

That's right, just for now. The one Link eventually went with was an interesting ability that would prove both fun and useful in the future. Disappearing and reappearing behind someone would make things interesting.


	5. The Test Path 2

_**You are almost there.**_

Link cheered impatiently as he came upon a long bridge that looked to be made from massive trees that had been split in half and hollowed out. It led to the largest tree in the forest. He was curious as to what was supporting it, but his eagerness to see what lied ahead overtook his curiousity. So far though, it hadn't so much as creaked as he walked exuberantly across the surprisingly sturdy structure.

Despite his cheery attitude, the boy couldn't shake the feeling of being watched. He glanced around to try and find out whom or what was but found nothing of interest. As he approached the tree, several clicking sounds and high pitched squeaks sounded from a distance. They were unnerving and irritating. There was, strangely enough, a circular door in the tree with worn and weathered metal bars, which looked terribly out of place on a seemingly wooden door, crisscrossing it in eight directions. Far above, were holes with ledges with what appeared to be monkeys peering out and down and the stranger.

On the center of the door was a cylindrical depression surrounded by gears and gyros. Set inside of it, were markings that were oddly familiar. Link unhooked the talking scrap pile that he purchased from the trader and examined it. They were similar in design but were both far too worn to compare. In a moment of clarity, he inserted it into the depression. The boy was startled and leapt back when a groan of dilapidated architecture sounded and the gears on the front of the door whined and squealed as they began to sleepily awaken. The bars that lied across the door retracted and the artifact was ejected from the key-hole giving the circular door the cause to roll to the side, and thus exposing the entrance.

Link was mildly surprised that anything happened at all, let alone something so drastic. He was half expecting the most eventful thing would be him needing to pry his trinket out. He picked up the item he purchased and examined it in a new light. It made him wonder how the trader, Murgo, managed to get a hold of such an interesting object. It not only 'spoke' but somehow was a key to a _tree._ The boy's thoughts were interrupted when the clicking sound came back and sounded a lot closer than before. He turned to see, of all things crawling up the side of the bridge, _spiders_, big ones. They had to be at least the size of a grown man's head. The gargantuan arachnids chattered and screeched as they all caught view of him. The majority of them immediately raised their front four legs into the air above their heads and bared their dripping fangs in warning.

Fear dug its icy fingers into Link's mind, but he forced it down. He couldn't afford to lose his cool in a dangerous situation like this. Thinking back to his days in the forest, the wild child backed into the opening of the tree and readied his sling. The spiders pursued after the boy. The moment one of them came stepped through the door, a medium sized rock pelted it in the side. A piece of its exoskeleton broke off revealing the sticky ichor inside. One of the other spiders took notice of the injury and attacked its injured comrade for an easy meal.

Another spider continued after its prey unconcerned with the other two spiders' fight. Link slung another rock after the arachnid, but missed, forcing him to dance away from the approaching predator. After loading a larger sized rock into the sling, he slung it around and brought it down upon the spider without releasing the rock like a flail. Surprise took over when the spider wrapped its legs around the sling and ran up it as an impromptu ramp to Link. Fortunately, the boy was startled enough release the sling, sending it and the spider sailing away and into a wall, effectively crushing the sling-jacker. Unfortunately for link, the other two spiders have finished their fight, the survivor a little worse for wear.

Link was without his trusty sling and almost defenseless. He tried throwing the rocks in his pouch at the approaching predator by hand, but it did little more than scratch it up and aggravate it. The boy bolted around the spider for his sling. When he grabbed it, he saw that the other spider was still stuck to it and somehow still snapping it's pincers despite having its body completely crushed. He flung it off with a fling of the sling and mounted a rock into it. The final spider was almost upon him. He had to make this shot true. When he released the projectile, the spider was crushed.

Victory tasted sweet. A tired Link wobbled to a wall and slumped up against it.

_**Well done. Not many could do what you just have all but unarmed like that, especially someone of your age. You should be proud.**_

Link trained in on the strange hollow voice that had been addressing him for the past few hours. It was most certainly fascinating, but he was starting to wonder if it was trouble or not.

_**Look to the fallen creatures that you have killed.**_

With nothing better to do in his tired state, he obeyed and cast a gander over to the spider carcasses. Surprise donned on his features as he saw something hovering around the bodies. Well, he didn't _see, _see, but- Well, he couldn't describe how he was perceiving it.

_**Your bloodline has a unique ability like no other that has allowed its possessors in the past to ascend to greatness and beyond, shaping the world as they saw fit. But such is a forgotten time, the likes of which have been faded and obscured by fables and legends to an unrecognizable degree. But you are alive and have it.**_

_**What you 'see' is the knowledge and past experience of that which you have killed. By taking this in unto yourself, you will possess it for your own and be able to focus it into an array of many diverse abilities. Your first kill being simple creatures, your gain will be little this time, but the event has strengthened you nonetheless. Now, breathe in their past life.**_

A small smile crept across Link's features. It sounded interesting. Without much hesitation, he obeyed.

_**You probably haven't seen much considering the source of this particular batch of essence, yet this is most likely confusing to you being your first time dealing with such. The first few times, I will guide your mind as it focuses what you are currently processing. As you accustom yourself to it, you can do it without my help, but first, rest. This can wait until you are fully awake and alert.**_

Link had no desire to wait, but sleep made itself known and his eyes closed of their own accord.

XXX

"WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?" screeched an angry Uli. She and about another dozen women behind her were all giving him mountain toppling glares. Seeing as the boy had no real mother, several of the village women all seemed to try and raise him in many different directions. Rusl did his best to try and put a stop to it so the young boy wouldn't grow up confused, but fortunately, Link was so independent it didn't seem to matter.

Link looked like he got his hand caught in the cookie jar. After he had passed out, he didn't wake until dawn was first beginning to creep its way across the morning sky. By the time Link finally got back to the village it was already time to work the crops and the livestock had already been tended to hours ago. It turns out that the village was in an uproar looking for him last night. He tried to mime out that he had been sleeping somewhere, somewhere _unspecified_, and was receiving no slack.

Rusl walked up to see what his wife was screaming about and received a pleading look from Link. The older man was tempted to rescue him from the gaggle of harpies, but decided that maybe the torment would teach him not to go wandering around all night.

The lecture, or cacophony of a dozen scatterbrained lectures, seemed to drag on forever. When it finally ended, Link drearily noted that it was past noon. He quickly found some solitude. The chores he did were usually of his own accord, so he really didn't have any obligations at the moment. When he was older- oh boy- he would be put to work, but for now, he was free. The strange artifact that he had picked up had been unresponsive since this morning. After yammering nearly nonstop since he first heard it, the silence was a little eerie. It had made some fancy promises, and Link was interested in finding out more.

_**Your eagerness will have its uses. **_Link's eyes brightened when he heard the voice return. _**I promised you that I would help guide you in your first attempts to focus the experiences of your enemies. Here.**_

The world around him bled away and Link soon found himself to be standing in a stone room with many great paintings surrounding the different sides. Towards the center, a series of steps encircled a gilded platform. Bright, wild, blue eyes darted around in bewilderment at the sudden change of scenery.

_**This chamber has long since faded away from time, but it remains in the realm only the mind and the dead can access. Here, your first few attempts to focus the essence you've gathered from your enemies will be done for you. Take note of the experience and do so with haste, it is unwise to tread here for too long or too many times.**_

The ominous message caused the hairs on Link's neck to rise, but his curiosity and eagerness won out and he soon found himself standing on the gilded platform. He felt his mind run away with itself, like when one was first starting to dream. His eyelids shut, but his eyes themselves were moving rapidly from behind them.

_**There are three ways to focus the essence, all of which will affect you both mentally and physically. Mind you, you must actively use them and your body to maintain and truly achieve them. The three main branches are strength, skill, and will. **_

_**Strength is straightforward. How strong your body is and how resilient you are. You can also focus it into embracing strength-based melee combat techniques from the collective. The collective is a library of sorts of techniques cultivated by your ancestors.**_

_**Skill is your speed, dexterity and how guileful you are. There are also skill based abilities available from the collective.**_

_**Will is your mind's power, the mind's ability to shape the world around it. Focusing the gathered essence here will increase the ease of which you implement Will, your strength of using it, and your capacity for using it. The collective of techniques here are many and very useful. These techniques are so precise that the closest word to describe them would be magic.**_

_**I would advise that you select at least one Will technique before expanding to anything else. Be cautious in your selection though. Some techniques can only be properly used by those whose souls have been tainted with evil, and some can only be used properly by those of benevolent nature. So choose wisely.**_

The information that buzzed through his mind was almost like a catalogue. Link peered through the Will techniques. Some complimented each other and even mundane household tasks. Some were meant to be used in tandem with Strength and Skill techniques in the collective. The main ones he was interested for now were those that were weapons in themselves. He remembered what it was like when he lost his sling during the arachnid attack. With this, he wouldn't be defenseless. Besides, throwing around lightening was every kid's dream.


End file.
